Something Tastey is going on in 4-H

Kaufman County kids are learning to cook and love eating what they cook even more. The 4-H Leader Pandora Feller and FCS agent Katie Phillips have been working with several outstanding youth to learn about the basics of food and nutrition.

The 4-H Food and Nutrition Project encourages youth to learn about nutrition by cooking. This hand-on approach is popular with children who prepare to learn by doing. For the Food Show, children prepared a dish at home and then brought it to the contest site. The children gave a brief presentation and were interviewed by a panel of judges. They were judged on their knowledge of nutrition, food safety and food project experiences.

New this year was the Food Challenge, inspired by competitive cooking shows, such as Iron Chef and The Next Food Network Star. Teams cooked a dish using only a list of ingredients. Part of the “challenge” was that they were not given the instructions on how to prepare the recipe. After preparing the dish, the team prepared a presentation, which included information on how they made the dish, cost and nutritional value.

Encouraging children to cook is a life skill that will serve them all their lives. Cooking can be part of family meal time, which has many benefits, according to Carrie Sharp, 4-H and Youth Development County Agent for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Kaufman County.

Research shows that children who sit down and eat with their families eat more nutritiously than those who don’t: they eat more fruits, vegetables and fiber and less soda and fried foods.

“Families who eat together also have more time and opportunities to communicate and build relationships and these children tend to perform better academically,” Sharp said.

Though you may think it is impossible to get the family together for meals because of busy schedules, the Texas AgriLife Extension offers these tips for making family meal time a ritual at your home:

• Start eating meals together as a family when your kids are young so it becomes a habit.

• Plan when you will eat together as a family.

• During the meal, focus on each other. Turn off the television and phone.

• Talk about fun and happy things and make meal time stress-free. This isn’t the time to nag about homework and chores.

• Encourage your child to try foods, but do not lecture or force your child to eat.

Menus don’t have to be time-consuming and elaborate. The whole point is to spend time with the family. Make quick cooking stir-fry, soups, or no-cook sandwiches and salads.

Katie Phillips, Family and Consumer Science County Agent for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Kaufman County has tips for doing some tasks for meal preparation before hand:

• Wash and cut vegetables or make a fruit salad the night before.

• Cook lean beef or turkey for spaghetti, tacos, or chili and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

• Consider batch cooking, which can provide leftovers for lunch the next day or supper for two nights in a row.

Winners of the Kaufman County 4-H Food Show and qualifying for the District competition in January are:

Junior Division - Paige Salinas - Breads and Cereals, Jaci Pfeifer - Main Dish, and Emily Matthews - Nutritous Snacks.

Intermediate Division - Michelle Braddock - Main Dish

Senior Division - Hannah Feller - Main Dish

The Food Challenge Team representing Kaufman County will be Michelle Braddock, Paige Salinas, Jaci Pfeifer, and Emily Matthews. (Pictured working on their dish for the competition.)

For more information about the 4-H program or the nutrition and food classes for youths , contact Carrie Sharp, Kaufman County 4-H agent at 972-932-9069.